Silage distributor



y 27, 1953 D. RUTTEN 2,836,149

SILAGE DISTRIBUTOR Filed April 4, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 27, 1958 D. RUTTEN SILAGE DISTRIBUTOR j N X u mm m m Q NM. "Hm WU 4 LA m n W. fi I g n w W h Nw w A s m N D W m m w r Filed April 4, 1957 United States Patent @ilrce SILAGE DISTRIBUTOR Donald Rutten, Plainfield, 11]., assignor to Railoc Company, Inc., Plainfield, 11]., a corporation of lllinois Application April 4, 1957, Serial No. 650,603

7 Claims. (Cl. 119-52) My invention relates to improvements in silage distributors.

My invention relates more particularly to a circular silage distributor used in connection with feeding silage in a stationary circular trough provided around the base of the silo.

As is well known in the art, most owners of silos also have a silage unloader on top of the silage in the silo for moving the silage out through a silo door in the wall to drop the same down through a chute to the base of the silo where the farmer then moves the silage to suitable feeding troughs from which it is eaten by the cattle.

In my co-pending application for patent, Serial No. 598,106, filed July 16, 1956, I describe and claim a silage distributor for moving silage dropped through the chute around the silo in a stationary trough which surrounds the silo.

In the above mentioned application I have shown a ring which encircles the silo above the trough, the ring being rotated and provided with spaced shovels or scoops which move silage from the spot directly below the silage discharge door around the silo in the trough, so that an entire herd of cattle may stand around the silo and eat out of the trough, the distributor moving the silage around the entire periphery of the trough for the cattle.

The present invention relates to improvements in the construction of the scoops or shovels which are carried by the rotatable ring for distributing the silage around the silo in the stationary trough. in using a rigidly supported scoop or shovel such as is shown in my co-pending application, I have found that certain types ot moist feed or silage such as grass, for example, when moved by the scoops in an are around the silo, have a tendency to ball up, or roll in the formation of a ball, thus interfering with normal spreading or distribution of the feed. To eliminate this difiiculty, l have pivotally connected the scoops or shovels to the supporting ring so that each scoop may be raised and ride over silage in the trough, carrying its supply of silage around the silo until it can drop by gravity in the trough beyond the filled part of the same.

For a more comprehensive understanding of the invention, reference is had to the following description and the accompanying drawings, upon which:

Fig. l is a plan sectional vow of a silo and encircling feed trough with a silage distributor associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is an enlar ed fragmentary view of a portion of the silo wall, encircling ring and pivoted scoop carried thereby;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the parts shown in Fig. 2 and is taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the rotating ring member and pivoted scoops or shovels carried thereby; and

Fig. 5 is a front perspective view of one of the scoops.

in the embodiment of the invention which i have chosen to illustrate and describe the same, in Fig. 1 I have shown the usual circular silo 10 which may have a wall 11 constructed of concrete, cement blocks, wood, or other desirable material, in the shape of a hollow cylinder, usually provided with encircling hoop members and a dome-shaped roof member. These silos are also provided with a vertical enclosed chute 16 along one side of the same adjacent a vertically disposed row of door openings 2i) in the wall 11 of the silo.

To provide a circular silage feeder and distributor, I have placed a circular trough 24 about the base of the silo, the trough including a circular vertical wall 26 and a trough bottom 28 extending from the wall 26 to the wall 11 of the silo.

As more clearly shown and described in my co-pending application hereinabove referred to, I mount a plurality of vertically disposed channel members 3% about the base of the silo and support the same upon a pair of spaced silo encircling hoop members 32. The vertical channel members are supported on the hoop members 32 by a pair of book bolts 34 adjacent the top and bottom ends of the channel members 30. The ring member 36, which is preferably channel shaped as shown, is mounted for rotation between the shoulders 33 of rollers 40 that are mounted on bolt members .2 carried by parallel flanges of a U-shaped bracket 46 that is fastened to the channel members 30.

For supporting the scoops or shovels 643, I provide brackets St the brackets being generally L-shaped and having a wall portion 54 lying against the vertical wall the ring member 36, and a lateral extension 56 that a down-turned flange 53. The scoops or shovel members oil are pivotally connected to the down-turned flanges 5% by means of a pair of chain links 5% the links a"? being connected through suitable openings in the floor of scoops es and suitable openings in the downturned flange 523 of the support brackets St).

The drive for rotating the ring member 36 may be similar to that shown in my previously mentioned application including an endless chain '75 driven by a motor M, and there may also be a tapered canvas bag memb 1% as described therein for directing silage that s down through the chute 16 into the path of the ops or shovels 69. i

As previously mentioned, with the rigidly supported scoops there has been a tendency for silage, especially if it is wet and stringy, such as grass, to start to ball up and roll, thus interfering with a smooth even distribution of feed about the trough. With the pivoted scoops or shovels so shown, there will first be an accumulation of feed to a height generally below the scoops or shovels when they pass in a horizontal position about the silo. Thus scoops passing under the opening at the end of the chute it? will receive a deposit of silage and as they move forward they will ride over the top of the silage in the immediate vicinity until the scoops are permitted to drop by gravity, thus depositing the silage as they drop.

For example, as shown in Fig. 4, the scoop 60a may be passing over the level of silage under the chute, and as it comes to the position of scoop 6% it will start to drop silage that was deposited on it under the chute and continue on its way around the silo. In order to pr vent the scoops from hanging at a vertical angle, I have provided the ledges 62 on the back of the scoops and extensions 53a on the down-turned flange 58 of the bracket 5t; so that the extreme angular position of the sec v' il be that shown by 690, Fig. 4. .he pivoted scoops as shown, it can be seen that the scoops or shovels will carry silage over the top of already in the trough to a predetermined level at the edge of the level pile of silage.

" In this manner the level of the silage'inthe trough is gradually built up as the silage is carried around in'the trough. Due to the pivotal mounting of the scoops and .the fact that they carry the silage insteadof pushing it' as shown in my previous application, there will be no tendency for the scoops to roll 'or compress the feed during any part of their travel about the silo, and the action will result in a rapid carrying, dropping and filling of the 1 entire circular trough with feed up to a desired level.

' In addition, due to the fact that the only requirement Tof the drive motor is to rotate the ring and carry loaded scoops until the silage can be dropped, the load is much lighter than where the scoops are directed forwardly and shove the silage forward; With the comparative length of the scoops or shovels as shown, I have provided in effect a continuous carrying medium for the silage and much quicker distribution is effected.

While I have illustrated and described a specific embodiment of the inventiomit will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made in the exact details shown and I do not wish to be limited in any particular; rather What I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination with a silo having a vertical chute along one wall of the same, vertically aligned doors opensaid silo and carried by said hoops, rollers mounted in ing into said chute and a shallow stationary trough around,

the periphery of said silo at the base thereof, of a pair of hoops encircling said silo above'saidtrough, a plurality of vertical support members carried by said hoops at spaced points around said silo, a roller mounted in each of said support members, all of said rollers being in horizontal alignment about said silo, a ring member encircling said silo and carried by said rollers, a plurality of scoops pivotally connected to said ring member and extending downwardly therefromin said trough and means for rotating said ring member.

2. The combination with a silo having a vertical chute along one wall of the same, vertically aligned doors opensaid silo, scoops pivotally fastened to said brackets and F extending downwardly therefrom 'into said trough and means for rotating said ring member.

3. The combination with a silo having a vertical chute along one wall of the same, vertically aligned doors opening into said chute and a shallow stationary trough around the periphery of said silo at the base thereof, of a pair of hoops encircling said silo. above said trough, a plurality of vertical support members positioned about said silo and carried by said hoops, rollers mounted in said support members in horizontal alignment, each of said rollers 7 having outstanding peripheral flanges, a ring member carried by said rollers, said ring member being channelshaped in cross section, outwardly: extending brackets fastenedto said ring member at spaced points around said silo, scoops pivotally fastened to said brackets and extending downwardly therefrom into said trough, and

means for rotating said ring member, said brackets being :L-shaped and having chain links for connection to the tops of said scoops.

v 4. The combination with a silo having a vertical chute along one wall of the same, vertically aligned doors'opening into said chute and a shallow stationary trough around the periphery of said silo at the base thereof, of a said support members in horizontal alignment, each of said rollers having outstanding peripheral flanges, a ring member carried by said rollers, said ring member being channel-shaped in cross section, outwardly extending brackets fastened to said ring member at spaced points around said silo, scoops pivotally fastened to said brackets V and extending downwardly therefrom, into said trough,

and means for rotating said ring member, said brackets being L-shaped and having chain links for connection to the tops of said scoops, each of said scoops having a back ledge bearing against a portion of its supporting bracket for limiting downward swinging movement of the same.

openin into said chute and a shallow stationary trough around the periphery of said silo at the base thereof, of a pair of hoops encircling said silo above said trough,

a plurality of vertical support members positioned about said'silo and carried by said hoops, rollers mounted in said support members in horizontal alignment, each of said rollers having outstanding peripheral flanges, a ring member carried by said rollers, said ring member being channel-shaped. in cross section, outwardly extending brackets fastened to said ring member at spaced'points around the silo, scoops pivotally fastened to said brackets and extending downwardly therefrom into said trough,

and meansfor rotating said ring member, said brackets 6. The combination with a silo having a vertical chute along one wall ofthe same, vertically aligned doors opening into said chute and a shallow stationary trough around the peripheryof said silo at the base thereof,

of a pair of hoops encircling said silo above said trough,

a plurality of vertical support members positioned about I said silo and carriedby said hoops, rollers mounted in said support members in horizontal alignment, each of said rollers having outstanding peripheral flanges, a ring member carried by said rollers, said ring member being channel-shaped in cross section, outwardly extending brackets fastened to said ring member at spaced points around said silo, scoops pivotally'fastened to said brackets and extending downwardly therefrom into said trough, and means for rotating said ring member, said brackets being L-shaped and having chain links for connection to till the tops of said scoops, each of said scoops having a back ledge bearing against a portion of its supporting bracket for limiting downward swinging movement of the same, and each of said scoops being of suflicient length so that the end of one may underlie the pivot of the'adjacent scoop when swinging about its pivot to a horizontal plane, said scoops being flat and rectangular in shape with upturned side walls and adapted to ride over silage dropped in said trough below said chute and carry silage dropped on the same around the silo to distribute silage to the same level in said entire trough.

7. The combination with a silo having a vertical chute along one wall of the same, vertically aligned doors open ing into said chute and a shallow stationary trough around the periphery of said silo at the base thereof, of a pair of hoops encircling said silo above said trough,

a plurality of'vertical support members positionedabout member carried by said rollers, said ring member being channel-shaped in cross section, outwardly extending 5. The combination with a silo having a vertical chute along one wall of the same, vertically aligned doors brackets fastened to said ring member at spaced points References Cited in the file of this patent around said silo, scoops pivotally fastened to said brackets and extending downwardly therefrom into said trough UNITED STATES PATENTS and means for rotating said ring member, said means 2,286,143 Lee June 9, 1942 comprising a motor vertically supported on the side of 5 2,571,490 Sanders ct a1. Oct. 16, 1951 said silo, a sprocket driven thereby and a chain surround- 2,704,995 Dueringer Mar. 29, 1955 ing said silo and positioned in said ring member to fric- 2,747,546 Winter May 29, 1956 tionally rotate the same. 

